Tennis

How far can Rafael Nadal go at the ATP 250 in Brisbane?

December 30, 2023

The ATP 250 in Brisbane is a highly anticipated event especially because Rafael Nadal will be there, almost a year after his last official match at the 2023 Australian Open. And the draw for the tournament that will take place starting tomorrow, Sunday 31 December, has been drawn. Nadal was drawn in the bottom half of the draw and is expecting a player from the qualifiers or a lucky loser in the first round. If he were to win his first round, in the second round the 22-time slam champion would find the winner between the number 8 seed Aslan Karatsev and the Australian wild card Kubler. The first seed, the Danish Holger Rune, who drew the Australian player Max Purcell in the first round. Whoever wins will then find Van Assche or Shevchenko. The other top seed in the first quarter is Korda who will make his debut against the German Hanfmann while Wolf waits for a qualifier. The second quarter of the draw is manned by Ben Shelton. The number 3 seed opens against Safiullin and in case of success there is then the winner of the Australian derby Popyrin-O’Connell. The bottom part of the draw is open, as mentioned by the Karatsev-Kubler match and Nadal is there. The Australian Thompson-Vukic derby completes the fourth and the number 4 seed, the Frenchman Humbert awaits his opponent from the qualifiers.

Rafael Nadal’s darw isn’t impossible

Last quarter of the draw with certainly the most exciting match of the first round on paper, namely the one between the number 2 seed Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray. Also in the area are the number 7 seeds Etcheverry and Altmaier (opponents arriving from the qualifiers for both) and there is also room for the third Australian derby drawn, namely the one between Kokkinakis and Hijikata. Rafael Nadal’s path is not impossible. How far can Spanish go? I think at least until the semi-final. His path up to a possible match against Dimitrov. His first draw since the 2023 Australian Open is not impossible. There are all the conditions for Rafa to start the year in the best possible way, and put court in his legs in view of the 2024 Australian Open. In the second round, Rafa could cross Karatsev. One of Thompson or Humbert could be his eventual opponent in the semifinals. Big show in Australia starting tomorrow! The complete draw: